Nick Buckley on Mindfulness, Business and Community

Mindfulness Course for Dartford. Starts 7:30pm Friday 6th November

UPDATE: Just a reminder, that you can simply turn up at the first session to enrol – but if you want to be sure of getting a course pack in week one please mail, text or call me beforehand. Contact details below under “How to sign up”.

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I am running another four week Mindfulness course for friends and community in Dartford during November.

Mindfulness at Work have again agreed for me to use the ‘Mindfulness is Now’ course, which we normally run for business clients, at a fraction of the usual price. Only 30 places are available. The main details are below – followed by some explanation about what Mindfulness is and how it works.

Apart from anything else, these sessions will be a chance to let go of your week and get into the right frame of mind to enjoy the weekend ahead!

Dates and Times:

Friday 6th November, 7:30pm to 8:30pm then each of the following three Fridays at the same time [November 13th, 20th and 27th]

Please e-mail me on nick[at]soshall.net or call me on 07958 516967 to reserve a place. Similarly, please get in touch if you want to find out more about me or the course. You can just turn up on the first night – but advance booking ensures you won’t miss out, and that I know how many packs to prepare.

I can take payment at, or immediately after, the first session – by cash, cheque [payable to SoShall Consulting Ltd] or I can give you bank details for internet payment.

The course is not open to under-16s. Please also consult with your GP or other professional, before taking the course, if you are currently receiving help with a condition such as depression or anxiety.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a way of approaching life, and in particular a set of regularly practiced techniques, which helps you to pay attention right now, without judging, to things as they are happening and as they actually are. This is an antidote to constantly mulling over what has happened in the past, or worrying about what might happen in the future. It reduces our tendency to obsess about whether we are doing well, doing the right thing, look OK to other people or deserve to be happy. By making us aware of how our thoughts and actions can just bundle us through the day on a kind of ‘auto-pilot’, Mindfulness allows us to pause more often and make conscious decisions rather than just reacting.

The result is reduced stress, better focus on one thing at a time, a clearer mind and better interaction with other people. This in turn can also improve your physical health, by reducing the damage that stress can do to our heart, circulatory system, immune system and digestion. More generally, it can help you to be happier and to appreciate more of life’s minutes – rather than just fast forwarding to the next ‘good bit’.

NICE [the NHS’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence] has recommended a particular clinical version of Mindfulness training [called MBCT] for addressing depression in people who are currently well but have experienced three or more previous episodes of depression.

A good description of Mindfulness can be found on the Frantic World Website. The authors Danny Penman and Mark Williams have had a leading role in developing Mindfulness in the UK, and I will tell you more about their books on the course. But here’s what they say about Mindfulness.

So is this just a Work thing?

No. Mindfulness at Work are normally commissioned by employers to deliver the ‘Mindfulness is Now’ course in the workplace – we have even won an award for it from the UK legal profession. The course pack reflects this. But Mindfulness is applicable to all aspects of life, and to everyone. We always adapt the course for each audience – anyone can learn and practice these techniques, for a few minutes a day, and feel the benefit.

What happens on the course?

The course is informal, welcoming and fun – but also purposeful. The sessions are made up of Explanation, Experience and Enquiry. I will explain what Mindfulness is, how it works, how to do practices, and how to apply Mindfulness to everyday life. I will also point you to other resources and activities you can use to keep going after the course finishes – because the purpose of the course if to help you start a habit that you can benefit from for the rest of your life. You will Experience guided practices – typically 10 minutes – as I talk you though placing your attention on your breathing, or moving your attention around your body, and there are also other exercises to help demonstrate why Mindfulness helps. Enquiry is about reflecting, and discussing, together what you experience during a practice and how your week has gone between sessions. This helps to reinforce your learning, and to encourage others, or be encouraged by them through sharing. Knowing that “it’s not just me” can be a big help!

You will be shown how to download audio tracks, which you can use on a mobile phone/tablet, PC or Mac, to do your practices during the week by listening to a trainer’s voice. You will also sign up for daily e-mail prompts which explain some of the applications of Mindfulness and suggest things you might try, if you are in the mood, some time that day.

There is a printed course pack which summarises the sessions, points you to other resources and suggests ways of continuing the Mindfulness habit.

Is this a religious thing?

Mindfulness practices are very similar to some kinds of meditation. The techniques can be found in many different religions around the world, particularly Buddhism, which seem to have evolved similar approaches to dealing with life. When modern Mindfulness was developed in the 1970s and 1980s it was deliberately made more secular, so that a particular religion, or indeed aversion to any religion, should not be a barrier to taking it up. Mindfulness is compatible with many religious principles – not least compassion towards others and towards yourself! That second one is something many of us forget to have.

Other details:

I will give people other information when they sign up but, just in case.

The Spilman Suite can be accessed by walking between the church and the back of the Ellenor shop. The main entrance, via the cafe, may be closed. So please don’t be put off – you just have to continue clockwise around the building until you find the side door. As this is easy to miss I will try to put up a couple of signs, and I will lurk outside before the first session.

There is parking nearby in the Market Place (by Iceland), Market Street (alongside the park), Overy Street, Acacia Hall and Darenth Road. Many of these are free after 6:30pm. Parking by Aldi, at the Orchards, is free but only for 1.5 hours – which may be cutting things a bit fine. You don’t want to be worrying about getting back to your car throughout the session.

Any suggestions or questions please contact me via the methods given above.